A Bodyguard or Partner
by TheThunderbirdRising
Summary: Disappointed by his failures, Cinder assigns Roman someone to make sure he doesn't mess up. Roman isn't happy about the arrangement. At least, not at first... (Follows along with Volumes 1 and 2. Slightly AU because of Volume 3)(Cancelled)
1. Escape

"You're getting sloppy." Roman Torchwick scowled up at his raven-haired companion as she took a seat beside him.

"I'm getting sloppy? Look Cinder, I'm not the one who got my ass handed to me by a little girl. How was I supposed to know that the men I hired couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag?"

"That 'little girl' was a huntress in training," Cinder shot back coldly. "Accompanied by Glynda Goodwitch, the deputy headmistress of Beacon Academy. When you started working for me, Roman, I expected you to be able to complete the jobs I assigned you, and to do it with a level of discretion. Now, I don't know what you did, but you somehow managed to attract the most dangerous enemies possible in Vale. And this isn't the first time I've had to pull you out of the fire, either. You're proving to be a bit of a disappointment."

Roman's replay was cut off by an uncomfortable groan from the bullhead he was piloting. "Cinder, I appreciate your concern for my safety after that harrowing encounter, but this really isn't a good time for me. I'm a little busy trying to control this thing. Or would you prefer that we crashed into the city?" Cinder glared at him, but remained silent as Roman struggled with the control stick. An uncomfortable silence remained between the two as the bullhead flew over the dark city, trailing a line of smoke.

* * *

 **Later**

Roman brought the ship to a very bumpy landing back at his headquarters. He let out a deep breath. The flight had been rougher than he cared to admit. The bullhead had been so badly damaged in the fight that it had barely made it back in one piece. Fortunately, Roman thought, he had managed to hide his problems controlling the ship.

"Cutting it a bit close weren't you?" Roman glared at his employer, then stalked out of the cockpit.

"You huntresses and your light shows. Maybe if you had tried to be a bit more cautious, I wouldn't have to navigate this free-falling hunk of junk over the city!" He slammed his cane, Melodic Cudgel, against the side of the ship for emphasis.

Not bothering to wait for Cinder, Roman stormed across the landing pad and threw open the doors to the main room of his base. He glared at the remaining thugs, who were moving boxes of dust around the open area. They were all still wearing those ridiculous red-tinted sunglasses. He couldn't stand the sight of them. _I need a drink,_ Roman decided. Walking up the stairs to his office, he was stopped by one of the thugs. "Hey Roman, what happened to Miles and the others?" It was a simple enough question, but it made Roman stop in his tracks. He closed his eyes and slowly took a deep breath. _Breathe Roman. In and out. Count to ten. 1...2…Oh screw it._

"You're all fired! Get out! Get back to that little rat hole you call a club! And no! I won't be paying you! I don't give money to incompetents! And if your boss, Junior, has a problem with that, well he can go-"

"Go take things up with me," interrupted Cinder smoothly, still coming through the doors from the landing pad. "Hei Xiong is smart enough not to try and contradict me. Tell him that Cinder Fall sends her regards." Roman rolled his eyes as the rest of his men moved uncertainly towards the exit. He quickly climbed the stairs to his office and entered, slamming the door behind him. Groaning as he slumped down in his chair, Roman pulled a bottle and glass from one of his desk drawers. He poured himself a glass of gin. A very large glass of gin. Roman managed to get maybe a minute of peace and quiet with his drink before Cinder entered his office.

"I don't suppose you're here to give me a pat on the back and a week's vacation?"

"Roman, I have business to attend to outside of Vale. I will be gone for several months."

"So I do get time off?"

"No, Roman. I still have assignments for you here. But I no longer trust you to be able to perform successfully."

"I don't suppose you'll tell me what this important overseas business of your is exactly?"

"No. I will be assigning you someone to work with for the foreseeable future. Think of her as a bodyguard or a partner, I don't care. But she will be responsible for keeping things running smoothly when you inevitably screw things up again."

"Of course, why wouldn't you keep me in the dark- wait, what? No, you're not sticking me with some babysitter. I can handle things here on my own! I don't need anyone to watch my back! There's no way in hell that's gonna happen! You're being ridiculous!" Cinder quelled his outburst with a glare.

"She will be arriving tomorrow. Along with the details of your next assignment. It's one that requires your…special talents. So, no slacking off!" She turned and sauntered out of the room. Roman couldn't even bring himself to admire the view. Instead he just refilled his glass of gin and dropped his head into his hands. There was no way he was going to let any minion of Cinder's into his base.

* * *

 **The Next Day**

Roman stared, open mouthed at the petite, pink-clad girl perched cross-legged on the edge of his desk.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me."

* * *

 **Author's Note: This is my first attempt at fanfiction, so tell me what you think. Criticism is appreciated**

 **Fun Fact: In my notes this chapter is called 'Escape from Episode One' but I figured that was too long**


	2. Neo

The morning had stared normally enough, Roman reflected. He had woken up in the living quarters that were attached to his office. After a cold shower- one of the downsides of having a secret criminal base was that there was no way to hook it up to hot water- he had thrown on some nondescript clothes, then put on the blue wig and glasses he wore when going out in public. No one had given him a second glance as he went to a local diner for some breakfast. Covering his dining expenses with a pickpocketed wallet from a woman with a particularly annoying dog, he had returned to the series of warehouses that served as Roman's HQ. Pulling off his disguise, he had intended to get in touch with his contacts on the net and try to find more men to hire, effective ones this time, when he stopped dead at the sight of the female intruder in his office.

Breaking off from his contemplation of how things had come to this, Roman studied the figure in front of him. The first thing he noticed was the umbrella. It was one of those fancy lace umbrellas, a parasol he thought they were called. Whatever it was, it was open and was resting over the shoulder of her pink and white jacket. Her legs, clad in dark brown pants, were crossed over each other and still hung several inches off the floor. It occurred to Roman that the girl was very short. His eyes were drawn up to the girl's face. Her hair was two colors, pink and brown, divided down the middle. And her eyes…matched her hair. A brown eye on the left, and a pink eye on the right. Well that was odd. And her expression was simply infuriating. She was looking at him with a small smirk, like she knew everything about him as soon as he walked in. "Oh you have got to be kidding me."

The girl's smirk widened into a full smile. "You're the one Cinder thinks is supposed to be able to 'help' me?" She nodded once. "…Right. Well. I don't know what Cinder told you, but she's mistaken if she thinks I need anyone to help me keep a handle on things. Besides, I don't expect I'd be able to get much help from someone of your…stature." At his last words, the girl's smile tuned into a glare and she closed the umbrella with a snap, taking it off her shoulder and laying it across her lap, in a gesture that Roman assumed was supposed to be threatening. "Look kid, I have business to take care of. I don't have time to deal with you. So just scram. Go get some ice cream or something." The smirk returning, the girl primly hopped off the desk and presented a plain white envelope. Roman was sorely tempted to brush her off again, but even from where he stood, he could smell soot and ash. Cinder. The woman left that distinctive smell on everything she touched. He snatched the letter from her hand and pulled it open.

 _-Roman_

 _Because of your failures in avoiding attention, we need a way to continue our operations while drawing zero notice. Obviously, robberies will draw some attention, so we need someone to draw it for us. Someone to help us obtain what we need while making a believable scapegoat for the police and the Hunters. I have contacts in the White Fang and I believe that they are the best candidates for the role. My contacts tell me that the White Fang are planning to invade the Faunus Rights rally tomorrow. You will meet with my contact and from there convince their leadership to assist us and then use the White Fang to take what we need. Also, your new companion will be accompanying you on this assignment, as she will for every assignment hereafter. Her name is Neopolitan._

The letter ended and Roman looked up. "Neo, huh? Look kid. I'm sure you don't want to be here anymore than I want you to be here. So I'm going to give you the next couple of months off. You'll be able to do whatever you want, and for full pay to boot. Cinder will never have to know. Whaddaya say?" Neo leaned forward on her umbrella and shook her head twice. He sighed heavily. _Wait,_ he thought. _Maybe I could…I mean, she doesn't seem like the brightest bulb. She hasn't even said a word yet._ He took a deep breath and steadied himself. "Look, Neo," Roman felt his aura flow through him as he activated his semblance. "Cinder sent you to me because she doesn't trust that I can deal with things. But does it really seem like the type of guy who would let things get out of control? I know that you'll trust me even though Cinder doesn't. So why don't you go somewhere else and relax. Let your friend Roman take care of everything from now on. Don't worry about me." He gave Neo his best comforting smile. She looked up at him and cocked her head thoughtfully, her eyes staring trustingly into his. _Too easy,_ he thought, his smile widening. _She's like putty in my-_ THWACK! In the blink of an eye she took her weight off the umbrella and smashed it into the side of his head.

"Ow! Hey, watch it! My face is very valuable in some places! A simple 'no' would have sufficed." He should have known Cinder wouldn't send someone stupid enough to fall victim to his personal brand of persuasion. All he had gotten for his attempt was a blow to the head. His aura made sure that the only thing that had gotten hurt was his pride, but even that still stung. Neo thrust her hand into his face, index finger raised. She stared coldly at him and wagged her hand back and forth. "All right, I get it. No fancy mind tricks."

Composing himself, Roman looked down at the small figure in front of him once again. "I don't suppose you're going to tell me what you plan to do around here while I work? If you plan to say anything to me at all. Neo pointed at her mouth, then drew a finger across her throat. "So you can't talk?" Her only response was to blink at him. As she did so, the pink and brown of her irises switched places. "Ah! What? How did you- You know what? I don't even care anymore." Roman sighed as he crossed the room and sat down in his chair. "Well if you can't talk, I suppose that's one less thing I have to worry about you annoying me with. And if you're this quiet, you might as well stay here while I work. Don't want to upset the boss, now do we?" He gestured towards one of the deliberately uncomfortable chairs he kept along the wall of his office. "But you do realize that there is still no way in hell you're going to 'accompany' me anywhere, capisce?" Her only response was another infuriating smirk as she sat down, crossing her legs in the same manner as before. Doing his best to ignore her, Roman turned on the computer terminal at his desk. _All right, White Fang contact at the faunus rally. Let's see…_

* * *

 **Authors Note:** As always, criticism is appreciated. You're getting this chapter a bit sooner than you normally would **.** An extended road trip gave me time to finish chapter one and get halfway through chapter two before I even published anything. My plan is to put out a chapter a week once I hit the main portion of this story, but we'll see how that goes.

 **Fun Fact:** I hadn't actually intended to reveal Roman's semblance until he starts interacting with the White Fang, but it just sort of happened while I was writing. Makes sense that Roman would do whatever he could to get Neo away from him.


	3. Faunus

Roman looked down at the sleeping figure curled in the corner of his office. After returning from his usual breakfast, he was surprised to that Neo hadn't woken yet. But she was still where he had last seen her this morning. He hadn't given a passing thought to Neo's sleeping arrangements before he had turned in last night. It seemed that the girl had made due by using her parasol as a pillow. Checking his watch, Roman saw that it was just after nine. Years of being a criminal had trained Roman to sleep light and fast, operating with a minimal amount of rest and waking up at the slightest interruption. But here was this girl, sleeping late into the morning, ignoring the noise of Roman moving around the office. It was typically amateurish behavior. Roman rolled his eyes and wondered again what she was doing here. Hell, she barely looked older than the little girl who had interrupted his robbery two nights ago. Of course, Red had been armed. And had huntress training, if Cinder was to be believed. And if the future huntress had only proved a minor annoyance, what could this parasol wielding midget do for him?

Already dismissing Neo in his mind, Roman walked back into his living space, shucking off the plain clothes he wore out into the city. He may be a wanted man, but he would be damned if he was going to wear a disguise to business meeting. Pulling on his white coat and tying a grey scarf around his neck, Roman grabbed his signature bowler and cane. Now he was ready to meet with the White Fang. He glanced at the time. There was still an hour and a half to go before he had to be at the rally. Sighing, Roman moved back out to his office and sat back down in front of his computer, intending to find some way to pass the time.

Five games of solitaire later, Roman was interrupted by Neo suddenly awakening in the corner of the room. "Morning, sunshine!" said Roman with mock cheerfulness. "Hope I didn't interrupt your beauty sleep." Neo, already alert stood up and brushed herself off, looking over at Roman. "As comfortable as that umbrella looked, you do know that there are actual bunks you could sleep in in the next warehouse over." Without expecting a response, Roman turned back to his game. While he was in the middle of moving a red four over a black five, he found a scroll shoved into his face. Jerking back in surprise, Roman scowled at Neo, who nodded at the scroll and moved it closer to his face. Obligingly, Roman focused on the words typed on the screen. _Cinder said keep an eye on you. Can't do that from a different building._ Roman dropped his head into his hands. That was exactly what he had been worried about when he saw Neo had slept in his office, which is why he just suggested she sleep elsewhere. "Well, I just went out and got breakfast without you stirring so much as an inch. Your dedication to your job is admirable." At the mention of breakfast, Roman heard Neo's stomach grumble audibly. "Oh my, it seems like you need some breakfast, too. Well, there's a diner two blocks away. Turn left from the warehouses and take the first right. You can't miss it." Neo frowned and typed something elese on her scroll. _Can't leave you alone._ "I'm flattered, but I've already been out to eat. You're on your own. Besides, you've still got over an hour before I've got to get to the rally. Plenty of time. I'm not going to go anywhere." Neo looked at him suspiciously. "Look, I don't want to piss of Cinder any more than you do. We might as well make the most of this." Neo paused for a moment, then nodded. Picking up her umbrella, she gave Roman one last sideways glance before exiting his office.

Roman forced himself to wait ten minutes before getting out of his chair and leaving the room. _Decidedly amateurish,_ he thought. She had barely needed convincing before leaving him alone. It was worth getting to the rally early if it meant getting rid of his multicolored babysitter. Celebrating his victory internally, Roman pulled up some information on the rally on his scroll to read while he walked. After the White Fang ad changed from peaceful diplomats to terrorists, an organization called simply Faunus Rights had formed to fil the void. Their membership had never been particularly large, as many faunus that had left the White Fang had become too disillusioned to try and continue with the new guys. Still, they held non-violent protests on a regular basis. Today, the rally was going to get decidedly less peaceful, thanks to the White Fang.

Roman, engrossed in his scroll, almost missed the figure waiting for him at the gate to the storage space where the warehouses resided. Almost. Roman froze at the sight of Neo, leaning against the fence, licking an ice cream cone, a slight smirk on her face. As the two stared at each other, Neo made a tutting sound and shook her head disappointedly. "You know kid, you have a habit of getting exactly what you want. It's starting to get on my nerves." He paused. "Where did you even get ice cream this early in the morning anyway?" Her only response was a small shrug. "Well, since we're both here, we might as well get going. You're clearly not going to leave me alone. Into that alleyway over there. I'm a wanted man, I shouldn't be seen until I can get lost in the crowd." The two of them moved through alleys and side streets. Roman found the silence as they walked together a bit uncomfortable. He was used to at least some level of chatter between his usual thugs. "So, Neo, what do you think about faunus?"

"…"

"Oh my, I haven't heard such language since I held up that cab full of drunken Vacuo tourists. Don't let the White Fang hear you talk like that. I don't doubt they'll take offense. What could cause you to say such things?"

"…"

"Oh, they did that to you? Well then, I don't blame you in the slightest. Are you sure that you want to go through with this? We will be walking in a crowd of faunus after all." Roman was starting to enjoy himself.

"…"

"Yes, of course I'll protect you. You don't have to worry about any big, mean faunus with your-Oomph!" Roman was cut off as Neo drove the end of her umbrella into his gut. "Why you little…" Neo reached up and slapped a small hand over Roman's mouth, gesturing angrily to something around the corner. Taking a look for himself, Roman saw that they had reached the site of the rally. But in between them and the crowd stood two police officers. "Oh, shit." Of course there would be police stationed around the rally to ensure things didn't get too hectic. "We need to get rid of them." Neo nodded, then suddenly turned and ran towards the two officers. "No, wait! Kid!" Roman hissed after her. The two policemen turned and looked at Neo as she approached. With wide eyes, she turned and pointed frantically back the alleyway where Roman had fortunately just ducked back behind the corner.

"Let's go check it out," Roman heard one of the men say, then the sound of two pairs of boots clomping closer and closer. Roman leaned forward on his cane, feet spread apart, as the two cops rounded the corner.

"Morning, gentlemen. Fancy meeting you here."

"What the-! Roman Torchwick!" The two officers scrambled for their guns as Roman straightened up, flipped his cane, and slammed the handle into the point of the first officer's jaw with a mighty underhand swing. At the same time as the first officer crumpled, Neo jumped on the other's back and pressed the umbrella against his throat, cutting off his air supply. "For Oum's sake, kid," Roman yelled as the officer sank to his knees, futilely trying to pull Neo off of him. "Tell me what the plan is before you go skipping off towards the cops! Being mute is no excuse! What if I hadn't gotten out around the corner in time and they had seen me? They could have called for backup and screwed us over! What if only one had come with you and we couldn't have taken him down without alerting the other? It would have screwed us over!" The cop's eyes rolled back in his head and he fell face forward onto the ground. Neo showed no sign of getting off of him. "Hey kid, don't kill him." She continued to hold the pressure with the umbrella. "Kid…" he said in a warning tone. No response. The officer's face was beginning to turn purple. Roman kicked the end of the umbrella nearest to him, sending it flying out of Neo's grip. "Listen kid, if you kill a cop, the rest of them won't rest until they find who did it. Cops are funny like that. What the hell were you thinking? We're supposed to avoid drawing attention to ourselves." He grabbed Neo by the arm and dragged her roughly to her feet. "I thought you were the one supposed to be keeping me out of trouble, not the other way around. Seriously, do you think out anything you do before acting? Your disregard for either of our safeties was only matched by your bloodlust. What is wrong with you? Someone should tear you down and replace you with a human being." With that, Roman adjusted his hat and stalked off into the crowd of faunus.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note: As always, criticism is appreciated. Actually, here's a specific question: Do you like the formatting? These blockier paragraphs? Would it make it easier to read if I cut it up more? Anyway, this is about a week after Chapter 2, so my planned publishing schedule is going pretty well. I had originally planned to make this and the rally all one chapter, but it took so long for them to get there, I decided to split it up.**_


	4. Rally

The Faunus Rights rally was being held in a plaza outside the Council building, the seat of government in Vale. In the glory days of the old White Fang, these rallies could have crowds of up to a thousand people. Now, Faunus Rights could only muster up a couple hundred humans and faunus. Still, the crowd was respectable, and Roman could see a large number of the white and blue banners of the newer organization.

He moved through the crowd, keeping his head down to avoid the gaze of the police that surrounded the area. His hand tightened around the handle of his cane, his knuckles whitening. How dare Cinder saddle him with that idiotic child? He would have already have met with his contact and been on his way out of this damn rally if not for her. He brushed past a clump of sign wielding faunus, absentmindedly pocketing a few of their wallets, just to make himself feel better. It didn't work. Just the thought of the pink and white girl made him- Dammit, there she was.

Neo was standing in a gap in the crowd, leaning on her umbrella and pouting. Roman stopped and glared down at the girl, looming over her.

"I thought I told you to get lost." Neo stared back up at him unflinchingly.

 _I have a job to do_ read the scroll she held up to his face. Roman groaned. It was Cinder again.

"She has you by the short hairs too, huh kid?" Hurriedly typing a reply, Neo held up the scroll yet again.

 _It would be better for both of us if you stopped trying to get rid of me._ Roman dropped his head into his hands. That damn woman. He never should have agreed to work with her.

"Fine," he snapped after a few moments. "You can stay, if it's only to keep Cinder off my back. Just stay behind me and don't say anything." She arched an eyebrow at him. "You know what I mean! If I can pretend you're not there, it'll make things easier for me." Not waiting for her to respond, Roman turned and started walking into the crowd. "Now, I've got a job to do, so try and keep up."

Roman headed quickly towards the arranged meeting with Cinder's White Fang contact, Neo trailing behind him. Towards the front of the crowd, there was a bench across the street from the Council hall. Sitting on the bench was a small, thin man. Roman watched him carefully from a distance. The man appeared young, but had a receding hairline. His small, beady eyes darted around the crowd nervously, watching every movement. Most notably, the man had a very prominent nose, with whiskers protruding from the sides of it, as well as from his cheeks. What Roman was really looking for was the bowler hat he held in his hands, almost identical to Roman's own.

A rat faunus with a bowler hat in the arranged meeting place. This was the man he was looking for. Roman frowned as he approached. Judging by the man's demeanor and reputation, he was apt to panic and run, abandoning the meeting. It was always the paranoid ones who were willing to sell out their own, Roman found. Still, he had to be careful, He couldn't risk him running scared, causing Roman to face Cinder's wrath.

Roman sat down on the bench, as far as possible from the faunus. "You're Kerry, I take it?" The rat man, Kerry, jumped in his seat.

"Ah! Oh, yes. That makes you Roman then?"

"It does. Now do you mind telling me why this meeting had to take place instead of just sending me the information I needed?" Kerry opened his mouth to speak, then stopped and looked at Roman suspiciously.

"How do I know that you are who you say you are? What's the code word I gave you?"

"It's 'springtime' Kerry. Are you happy? Can we get this show on the road?"

"Sorry. It's just that I can't be too careful. If your meeting with the White Fang higher up goes south, he'll be looking for whoever clued you in. I've got to cover my tracks, so I wanted to meet face to face, not with saved messages."

"For Oum's sake man. You've been selling information to Cinder for years and you're just now having security concerns?"

"Well, you aren't Cinder, are you?" the rat faunus asked, twisting the bowler hat in his hands. "I don't know you. And Cinder could protect me if things went south."

"Yeah, because Cinder is so protective," Roman muttered to himself, too quietly for Kerry to hear. "Look, I'm on the up and up, alright? Just tell me what I need to know and we can both get out of here." Kerry looked around nervously and then leaned towards Roman.

"Alright, so the meetings are…" He broke off and stared over Roman's shoulder. "You brought someone else? Who's the girl?" He had just now noticed Neo's presence, standing silently by the bench. Roman rolled his eyes.

"She's a White Fang agent. She's here to watch out for any moles. She's with me you brainless vermin. She knows what's going on. So just tell me!" Kerry scooted away from Roman and started to stand.

"No. You didn't say anything about another person. I don't know about this anymore. I need to get out of here." Roman sighed. It figured something like this would happen.

"No. Wait. Don't go." Roman made no effort to put any sincerity in the words, but instead called upon his semblance to do the convincing for him. Kerry let out a deep breath as his shoulder sagged.

"What? Make it quick before we attract any more attention."

"The kid's not going to be a problem. You're in the clear. Trust me." Kerry paused for a moment, and Roman could almost see his aura filling the man's ears, convincing him to listen. The rat man sat back down next to Roman.

"Fine, I'll tell you. The meeting you want to attend is held in the abandoned theatre near the industrial district. It'll start at eleven, so make sure you get there in time." Kerry blinked rapidly a couple times. "Alright. I've got to go." Roman fished inside his coat and tossed him a packet of cash. After flipping through it quickly, the faunus started walking away. Just before merging with the crowd, he turned back. "You might want to get out of here quickly. The rest of the White Fang will be showing up soon, and they won't take kindly to humans in the crowd." With that, he turned and was lost in the shuffle.

Finally, he could get out of this damn crowd. Not sparing Neo a glance, Roman brushed past her and headed toward the alley that headed home. He almost made it.

Fifty feet from the edge of the crowd, a loud sound stopped Roman dead. It almost sounded like the howl of a wolf.

Figures stepped out from the alleys and side streets surrounding the plaza. At the same time, several members of the crowd reached up and placed bone white masks over their faces. The howl faded, and for a moment, there was silence. Then the screaming started.

The warriors of the White Fang pulled knives, axes, guns, and all other sorts of weapons on the panicking crowd. The civilians tried to run, but the terrorists had surrounded the area and were able to stop most any attempt to escape.

The faunus of the rally were mostly ignored, merely clubbed out of the way or trampled to the ground. The humans weren't so lucky.

Roman stood in the chaos, Neo a few paces back. He could hear the sirens of the police already on their way and knew it would be too late. The police around the crowd were already dead and the White Fang would be long gone before anymore arrived. Right now though, Roman was more concerned with his own safety than the rest of the crowd. If he wasn't careful, he would meet the same fate as the other humans nearby.

"Human scum!" Roman heard yelled form behind him. He turned in time to see an incoming White Fang grunt get kicked in the side of the head by Neo and get sent sprawling. He didn't get up.

Roman headed quickly towards the edge of the crowd. The foot soldiers would be no problem, but if he was correct, they weren't the only thing to be worried about here. His suspicions were confirmed when three members of the terrorists grouped blocked his way, two men and a woman. Judging by the markings on their uniforms, they were higher ranking, and would be aura enhanced.

"Roman Torchwick," the woman purred. "I recognize you from the news. A common criminal. Typical human." Roman leaned casually on his cane and pouted at the woman, noting her green cat eyes.

"Only a common criminal? Give me some credit, pussy cat. I feel I deserve at least master thief. I've worked hard at it." The woman hissed at him- actually hissed!- and pulled two long knives from behind her back.

"Don't call me that!"

"What, pussy cat? Would you prefer Whiskers? Or Mouser?" The woman growled and charged at him, her knives swinging for his throat. Anticipating the move, Roman easily blocked the strikes with his cane. A boot to the chest sent her sprawling to the ground. He thumbed the safety on the handle of his cane and the bottom popped open, revealing the barrel of the mini launcher concealed there. The woman hissed again and looked at her two companions standing to either side. They nodded and drew their weapons. The larger fellow, who was sporting and impressive rack of moose antlers, pulled an ordinary sledgehammer off his. The other unsheathed a long katana and a smaller straight sword.

Neo stepped up to Roman's side and pointed questioningly between the two of them. "I don't care which one you fight, just get one of them! This is your job isn't it?" Rolling her eyes, Neo started walking towards the hammer wielder. Roman turned back to the one with the two swords. They stared each other down for a few moments, then Roman suddenly brought his cane around and fired a shot. His opponent rolled under it, the explosion cratering the ground behind him. Roman parried a series of quick swings, then stepped close, inside the reach of the longer sword. Putting the end of his cane against the man's chest, Roman pulled the trigger. The resulting blast knocked them both back, and their auras protected them, but the other man got the worst of it, and flew back thirty feet before managing to stagger to his feet, one of his swords missing.

As Roman collected himself, brushing himself off, he almost missed the woman rushing at him with her knives. He fell back, but not before collected a few slashes through his white coat. He looked down at it in dismay. "Careful! I get these custom made." The woman looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"Then I'll apologize in advance for the bloodstains." She charged again, but Roman stepped neatly to the side, hooking her leg with the crook of his cane. As she tumbled to the ground again, Roman kicked her knives away and a put a foot on her throat and pressed down.

"Don't worry, I'll be very careful about where I get your blood." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Neo had disarmed her opponent, who was desperately swinging at her with large fists as she danced out of reach. "Finish it up, kid," he called to her. "We do have the police on the way. Or are you deaf, too?"

Ignoring her reaction, he saw that the other man had recovered enough to start coming at him again. Unfortunately for him, he had not recovered enough to be able to dodge the third shot that Roman fired, which hit him directly in the face before he had closed half the distance. He was blown back into a nearby building, blood trickling from the back of his head where it collided with the bricks. He took his foot off the unconscious woman, who was sporting a boot print shaped bruise on her neck, and felt a tap on his shoulder. Looking back, he saw Neo behind him, with the large moose faunus bleeding from several wounds.

The sirens were much louder now. Roman quickly ducked into the alleyway in front of him, turning back to watch from the shadows as the first cop car pulled into the plaza. In a matter of minutes, the White Fang had arrived, attacked, and left, leaving only a screaming crowd and dead bodies behind. But it didn't matter. Roman had gotten what he had came for.

* * *

 _ **AN: As always, praise/criticism is appreciated. Wow, so it's been a while. Sorry about that. I'm going to blame finals and then getting caught in infuriating writer's block. But now I'm on break and hopefully out of my rut, so I'm going to try and update this story a lot faster. Like, every couple days. At least, that's the plan. There's a chance it'll fail horribly and you won't get a new chapter until March. But I'll see what I can do.**_

 _ **Fun Fact: This rally is supposed to be the one mentioned by Lisa Lavender on Ruby and Yang's airship ride to Beacon. That's right folks, we're still in the first episode!**_


	5. White Fang

Roman closed the door behind him as he stumbled back into his warehouse. A few seconds later, he heard the door open again as Neo walked in. Checking his watch, he saw that it was just past noon. Regardless, he needed a nap. Climbing to his office, he shucked off his clothes and fell into bed. He dreamed of cat women and blood.

* * *

 **Later**

"…When members of the White Fang attacked. The once peaceful organization had become more and more violent in the past five years. Police reports say that the attack resulted in twenty-three dead and eighty-seven injured. Authorities apprehended three members of the organization, all of whom were seriously injured by unknown means. We will continue to-"

Roman shut off the image of the purple-haired news anchor and tossed the remote aside. It must be a slow news day if they were still talking about his foiled robbery and the Faunus Rights rally. He always hated that mug shot of him they used on the news. It made him look like some sort of ugly troll. There was a time, before he started working for Cinder, that he had considered letting the police catch him again, just so they could get a better picture. Roman got up from his position on the couch and stretched. He needed to find something better to do to pass the time than watch TV.

* * *

 **Later**

"Plate of eggs and potatoes for you, hon." Roman nodded up at the waitress and took his food. As she walked away, he surreptitiously reached beneath his wig and scratched his head. The damn thing was always so itchy. As he started to eat, Roman felt the back of his neck start to itch as well, but this time in a different manner. Twisting around in his seat, Roman saw Neo, dressed in some frilly black and white outfit, sitting a few booths back, her eyes boring into the back of his head. Scowling at her, he turned back to his food. The girl had insisted on keeping an eye on him, even as he went out for breakfast. There was no way Roman was going to let her share a table with him, so she had settled for staring at him from a distance. Roman did his best to ignore her as he poured ketchup over his potatoes. Damn nuisance.

* * *

 **Later**

Roman looked over the cards laid out on the table before him. A red nine, a black seven, a black queen. A red six, that was what he needed! He moved a black seven over to the six. Roman spent more time than he would like to admit playing solitaire. There wasn't much to do in between jobs, especially with Cinder and her excessively complicated schemes. He couldn't stand spending any time more than necessary with the thugs he usually worked with, so he spent most of his time alone in his office. Of course, he couldn't get any alone time now, not with Neo dogging his every move. The mute girl was currently sitting in a chair and gazing off into space. It was what she seemed to spend most of her time doing while she was at the base. At least it kept her out of his way. Roman looked back down at his cards. A red nine, what could he do with that?

* * *

 **Later**

Roman awoke. Finally it was the day of the meeting. It had been one of the longest weeks of his life, with nothing to do or plan besides what he was going to say when he got there. What was worse was that Cinder had ordered him to keep his head down, so he couldn't even break into some poor chump's house to pass the time. But with the White Fang on their side, he would actually have something to do. Neo was still sleeping in the corner of his office, as he expected. The girl still consistently slept late into the day. Poking at her with his foot, Roman tried to get her to rise.

"Get up kid. I've got a busy day ahead of me, and you and Cinder will both be mad if I don't drag you along." Neo jerked suddenly into an upright position and looked up at Roman. He nudged her a few more times for good measure. "Get going," he said, before going back in for a shower.

* * *

 **That Evening**

His watch read 11:30 PM. The meeting would be in full swing by now. Perfect time to crash the party. Roman shielded his eyes as his cane blasted the door off his hinges. Walking forward through the smoke, Roman stepped into the auditorium of the theatre and spread his arms dramatically. "Good evening, faunus of the White Fang. Allow me to introduce myself." Fifty pairs of eyes turned to him. Up on the stage, a large man in an ornate chair laughed.

"Humans? Interrupting a White Fang meeting? Nice try." He laughed again. "Kill the intruders," he ordered, and suddenly, all manner of guns and blades were pointed at Roman.

"Ah, ah, ah." Roman fished in his pocket and withdrew an oblong cylinder with a button on the top. "This," he said, waving the device in the air, "is a remote detonator. Attack me, and I'll set off the charges I've set around the theatre. The walls, the ceiling, under the stage. As old as this place is, it won't take much to send the whole building crashing down. So I suggest that you take a moment to listen to what I have to say."

There was a long pause as Roman and the White Fang stared each other down. "Alright, put your weapons away. Let him talk." Roman grinned. Not putting the detonator away, he walked through the crowd towards the stage.

"Good. I'm glad we can be reasonable about this." He hopped up onto the stage. Up close, the man in the chair wasn't just large, he was fat. His eyes seemed too big for his head and placed too far apart. His mouth was grossly over-sized, and there were gill-like flaps hanging for his neck, and they moved in rhythm as he breathed. All in all, he cut a rather unpleasant figure. "So you're Gray, huh? I've heard quite a bit about you."

"Only good things, I hope."

"Not really. But I don't actually care about you."

"What? Then what are you-"

"Oh sure, you've got control of your little territory around here, your little band of terrorists that will jump when you say jump, but really, you're just a little fish." Roman looked down pointedly at the faunus's gut. "Well, one out of two isn't bad. No, who I actually need to speak to is your boss."

"What!" Gray was on his feet in an instant, pointing his gun at Roman's head.

"Careful there, merman. You wouldn't want my finger to slip, now would you?" Gray grumbled as he put away his gun.

"Alright, clam down. Don't do anything hasty. But the boss? Nobody sees the boss. As soon as we're out of this building you've got no leverage. And there's no way in hell I'm going to do something as stupid as taking a human to see the boss."

"No, you don't understand. Trust me, your boss is going to want to hear what I have to say." Roman made sure to enhance his voice with his semblance. The sooner he could get this conversation over with, the better. Gray blinked his large, pale eyes several times as he considered what Roman said.

"The boss wants to hear what you have to say…well then… No, you're a human. What could scum like you have to say to one of the leaders of the White Fang?" Roman sighed. He hadn't really expected it to work. From what he had heard about the White Fang commander, he was too shrewd for Roman's semblance to work effectively on him. Why couldn't things just go smoothly for once?

"Fine." Roman leaned in towards Gray and stared into his eyes. "Then I guess I'm going to have to do this the hard way." Gray swallowed nervously. Roman grabbed him by the collar. "We're going to go backstage and discuss this like gentlemen."

"W-What?"

"As long as we're in this building, you're in my power. But I need you to get me in legitimately, so I can't kill or torture you. My only recourse is actually convince you that this is a good idea. So, we're going to go backstage, sit down at a table, and neither of us is going to get up until you agree to let me meet with your leader. Capisce, merman?" Gray knocked Roman's hands off his collar.

"Alright human. I'll accept your terms. Convince me."

* * *

Roman dropped his head to the table with a thunk. It had been over an hour and Gray had stubbornly refused to listen to anything he said. Bribes, threats, pleading. All had failed against the impassive Gray. "You've yet to make me believe that anything you say is worth my boss's time. No matter how interesting your plot is, I assure you, he hates humans more than anything you could give him in return."

"Look Gray, if he likes this idea, and you are the one to bring it to him, think of how handsomely he would reward you. Why, you could be rich enough to command the respect of humans even without being a terrorist. Faunus or not, everyone listens to money."

"Boss doesn't work like that. Best I'd get is a pat on the back and command of a couple more men."

"Yes but my boss does work like that. I've already told you, you would be greatly rewarded if you did this for us."

"And I've already told you, I don't care about the respect of humans anymore. Only their fear."

"Fine.' Roman massaged his temples, trying to think of a tactic he hadn't tried already. "Think of it this way. You're not the only White Fang commander in Vale. There are five more of you I could give this proposal to." This was a bluff, as Roman was only was only able to know where Gray held his meetings because of Kerry's willingness to sell out. "If one of them agrees with me and takes the proposal to your boss, what then? If he finds out that you had this information sooner and didn't bring it to him, ahhhhh! That would be the end of trusting Gray to do anything. You'll always be remembered as the guy who withheld the best deal of his life from him. Do you really want to take that risk?"

For the first time, Gray seemed to hesitate. Roman didn't waste any time capitalizing on his uncertainly. "Judging by what I've heard about your boss, he's not the kind of guy to let lapses like that go unpunished, is he? Listen to me, and your worst case scenario is you're reprimanded and I'm killed. Don't, and you could be facing expulsion, or even torture. You don't want that do you?" Gray lowered his head for a few moments, staring down at his lap. Roman knew enough to remain silent and let him think it over.

"Alright," he said, after a pregnant pause. "I'll arrange a meeting with him and take you along. But it's going to be your head on the line, not mine." Roman stifled the urge to let out a sigh of relief.

"Glad you've come around. When can we expect this meeting to take place?"

"Meet me here, this time tomorrow night."

"Alright then." Roman stood up and left the room. Neo, who had been standing in the corner the entire time, followed behind him. As soon as he was in the backstage hallway, out of sight of Gray and the White Fang, Roman let his shoulders sag in exhaustion. "Finally," he said to himself. 'Thank Oum that that's over. Now all that's left is the easy part."

* * *

 _ **AN: As always, praise/criticism is appreciated. It's been four days since I last updated. Still too slow. I need to write faster.**_

 _ **Fun Fact: Yes, the OC in this chapter is a reference to exactly what you think he is .**_


	6. Agreement and Conflict

Roman spent most of the next day removing the Dust based charges from around the theatre. They had been a pain to put up, and they were a pain to take down. Even with Neo's help, it took far longer than he would have liked. Still, bombs were expensive, and Roman wasn't going to let them go to waste. It was nightfall by the time he had finished, so Roman simply waited around until it was time for Gray to meet him. At the appointed time, Roman saw the fish faunus waddling towards him, flanked by two White Fang guards.

"Ah, Gray. Glad you could make it. I was almost starting to worry that you had blown off our deal."

"Yeah, yeah. Well I'm here aren't I?" Gray motioned for Roman and Neo to start following him. The group headed off towards the outskirts of Vale. Gray led them to a dilapidated ghetto a stone's throw from Forever Fall. Even inside of Vale, it was a dangerous area. Which probably explained why barely anybody lived there. It was the perfect location for a terrorist base. Gray paused in front of the door to a boarded up restaurant. "I hope for both our sakes that this meeting goes well." He rapped sharply on the front entrance. The door swung open.

Two White Fang guards stood in the waiting area. Roman's escort walked up to the pair. "Commander Gray and guest to see the big man. I have an appointment." One of the guards checked a scroll.

"That you do. And the guest…" He looked closely at Roman for the first time. "That's your guest? You really gonna bring him in to see the boss?" Gray hesitated, looking back at Roman.

"Well…" Roman looked back at him expectantly, one eyebrow raised. "Yes. We're going to see him. I assume everything is in order?"

"Technically it is but…" The guard shrugged. "Whatever. It's your funeral." The two guards stepped out of the way and pushed open the doors to the kitchen. The group had just started to walk through when the guard interrupted again. "Hold on. The meeting specifies one guest. I can't let all three of you in here." Gray and Roman both turned to look at Neo.

"So…" Roman began, struggling to keep a straight face. "You're saying that she can't be in the very important meeting? That she'll have to stay in the waiting room?" He turned towards Neo, a grin starting to break across his face in spite of himself. "Gee, that's too bad kid. Looks like you'll have to be patient while the grown-ups talk." His grin only widened at the icy cold glare she sent him. Knuckles white on her umbrella, she brushed past Gray and Roman and made for the entrance to the kitchen.

"Hold it right there! No one barges in on the boss." The guard grabbed Neo's shoulder and pushed her roughly back. He looked up at Gray. "The human's right. She'll wait here with us." Roman wiped the grin off his face and replaced it with one of mock sorrow.

"Aww. That's too bad." He moved closer to the guard. "She's quite attached to me, you know. Barely ever leaves my side. Still, I suppose it has to be done." He heaved a great sigh, then knelt down and put his hand on Neo's shoulder. "Hey. I know you don't like to be alone, but it's going to be okay. I'm just going to be in the next room. You can stay here with these nice men. I won't be gone long." Neo knocked his hand off her shoulder, but not before he could feel her quite literally shaking with rage. Roman stood up and patted her head. "There, there. Don't cry." 'Dependency issues' he mouthed to the nearest guard, making sure Neo could see full well what he was saying. The guard looked at him blankly for a moment.

"Whatever. Just get in the damn kitchen." As he and Gray moved forward, Roman threw one last look over his shoulder. Pink and brown orbs locked onto his own. There was murder in those eyes, Roman thought. If the girl insisted on being his bodyguard, she was going to have to get used to this treatment. Besides, what was she going to do about it?

Inside, the kitchen had been transformed into what Roman could only describe as a war room. Maps detailing every district of Vale covered the walls, as well as what appeared to be trade routes and shipping time tables. In the center of the room, one large map of Vale covered a table, with several locations, including their current one and the old theatre he met Gray at, marked with White Fang symbols. Standing at the table were two men, both talking softly. Roman's eyes were immediately drawn to the larger of the two. He had to be at least seven feet tall. His full face Grimm mask and shaved head gave him an intimidating look. The giant chainsaw strapped to his back certainly helped with that, too.

"A-hem." Gray cleared his throat. His gills were flapping nervously at his neck. "Roman Torchwick, may I present the leader of White Fang operations in Vale, Adam Taurus." The second man at the table turned around. Like the rest of them, he too wore a Grimm mask, but one that was more stylized than the normal grunts. His red and black clothing matched well with his red hair. Roman noticed he had two long black horns sticking out of his head. He also carried a long gun, but kept it strapped to his waist like a sheath.

"A human?" His voice was deep and gravely. "Gray, your visitor to this meeting was a human? And a criminal at that. You'd better have a good explanation for this." The fish faunus quelled under Adam's glare.

"W-well, sir. He said he had a, um, proposition. About working together. It sounded like a good idea to me, sir, so I didn't think there would be any harm in bringing him here." Gray has started to sweat by the end of his sentence, his gills opening and closing rapidly.

"A proposition? What help could a human offer the White Fang? Talk quickly before we throw you out." Roman pulled his lighter out of his pocket and flicked it open, lighting up a cigar before he continued.

"I'm glad you decided to hear me out. I am Roman T-"

"I know who you are. Roman Torchwick. The man who nearly got caught robbing a tiny Dust store last week. Get to the point." Two sentences in and his pitch had already been interrupted. This wasn't going to go well, Roman decided.

"The people I represent require manpower. And not just any manpower. We need the best." He blew a cloud of smoke across the room. "So, we would be willing to pay in Dust and in lien for a partnership with the White Fang."

"And what would my men be doing in exchange?"

"We're going to be robbing Dust shops." The tip of his cigar glowed orange as he grinned at the terrorist leader. "All of them."

"Robbing Dust stores?" Adam scoffed. "The White Fang are not common thieves. We are a force of revolution! We fight to defend the faunus, not for our own gain." Roman expected an answer pretty similar to that. Fortunately, his semblance provided a handy backup.

"Listen, I know you don't like the idea at first, but the White Fang needs resources. How are you supposed to fight for the rights of the faunus without the money or weapons to support yourself? At the rate you're going, the White Fang is going to be toothless. You can only keep stealing form the SDC for so long. Besides, I'm sure there are plenty of Dust shops out there that treat faunus workers badly. Instead of blowing them up, why not just take their stock? Trust me, it's a win-win." Roman could make educated guesses on whether people would submit to his voice based on what he knew about them, but he could never be sure until he spoke the words.

"We have been hurting for resources for the last several years, especially since the Schnees have started cracking down. And if we started to do this, we would need the help of someone who knew what they were doing, like you. This could work out."

"Adam!" The taller man stepped forward. "We don't need help. And we definitely don't need to work with a human. Get this scum out of here!" Adam held up his hand.

"Stop. I am the leader of the White Fang. Not you. I will decide what is best for this organization. And what this human says makes sense."

"Yes, sir." The White Fang lieutenant backed off. This was going even better than Roman anticipated. Who knew that Adam was so single minded in his devotion to the White Fang that he would accept any suggestion that might help them, with only the slightest push form Roman.

"The White Fang is not a small organization. How much Dust and lien could you offer?" Roman's reply was cut off by a shout from outside the room.

"Hey! We said you couldn't-hurk!"

"What? You-" There was a burst of gunfire, cut off by a scream. Everyone turned to stare at the door as it burst open to reveal Neopolitan, parasol thrown open over her shoulder. Behind her, Roman could see the two guards lying unconscious and bleeding on the ground. She stalked over to Roman, stopping beside him and turning to face Adam.

"What. Did. You. DO!?" Roman's cigar had dropped out of his mouth and fallen to the floor, forgotten. A motor revved somewhere behind him.

"Human treachery!" The giant of White Fang member advanced towards Neo, chainsaw sword at the ready. Adam remained where he was, gun pointed at Neo. She took a fighter's stance as the brute approached, umbrella held out in front of her.

"STOP!" Everyone in the room froze, except for Roman, who instantly sun down on his cane, panting heavily. Issuing a mass command always exhausted him, and he wasn't sure if he trusted his legs at the moment. "Now, if everyone would like to take the time to relax, we could talk about this like civilized people." Movement gradually returned to the room. Adam turned and locked eyes with Roman.

"You claim to be doing this to help the White Fang. Then this. Explain yourself." Roman gritted his teeth and shot a glare at Neo.

"I…apologize…for the actions of my associate. She will be dealt with, I assure you."

"You are extremely lucky that I am inclined to accept your deal. Otherwise you would most likely be dead right now. I will agree to work together, but you need to prove yourself. To demonstrate your sincerity towards helping the White Fang, you will assist us on a mission of our own."

"Help you on a mission?" Roman didn't have time to play terrorist. Cinder wouldn't be happy if he didn't stick to the schedule. "I shouldn't have to help you out with that. We're already helping you enough. And trust me, this one," he said, gesturing at Neo, "won't be a problem anymore. She won't cause any more trouble." Roman risked putting a bit more of his semblance into his voice. Anything to get out of this situation faster.

"You come into my territory, attack my men, and then expect me to ignore it completely? No, you will be helping the White Fang on a mission, before a single Dust shop gets robbed. Now leave! I will send you the information you need with the details of your mission." Roman struggled to control his temper.

"Very well. If that's what's necessary to gain your allegiance, I won't argue any further." Damn this man and his stubbornness. Couldn't anything go right? "Thank you for your time. Come on Neo. We're going to leave to go have a talk." Grabbing her by the arm, Roman walked her out of the restaurant.

* * *

Roman slammed the warehouse door behind him. The walk back had been long and silent. "What the hell," Roman said, shoving his finger in Neo's face, "were you thinking back there?" Shrugging, Neo pulled out her scroll and typed out, _Just doing my job._

"Your job? Aren't you here because Cinder thought you could help? Instead, you attack the people I'm trying to get to help us! I seriously doubt Cinder told you to stand next to me at all times, no matter the situation!" _She said never let you out of my sight or you might do something stupid. Besides, you deserved it._

Deserved it? "I deserv…?" The world went red. This time she had gone too far. Roman swung Melodic Cudgel around and into the side of Neo's head. Or he tried to. Even taken by surprise, the girl was fast. As it was, Roman only managed a glancing blow to her temple. She staggered back slightly. Looking him in the eye, she slowly shook her head. "You!" Roman hissed, his voice dangerously quiet. "You have been nothing but a hindrance since you came here. I don't care what Cinder says anymore. This stops now." He raised his cane and popped open the bottom cross hairs. "Alright kid, the hard way or the easy way?" Neo unfurled her umbrella, holding it in a defensive position. "Hard way it is."

Blasting her with a flare round from his cane, Roman rushed forward through the smoke to follow up. He noticed too late that the round had impacted harmlessly on the surface of Neo's umbrella. It was too late to change tactics now. Roman swung the end of his cane into Neo's side with a two handed grip. Spinning backwards out of the way of the blow, Neo moved quickly back into range, throwing two kicks at him. He caught the first on his cane, but the second landed on the side of his head. Crashing to the ground, Roman rolled to the side to avoid the kick that came flying down at him. He rolled back to avoid a similar kick, then swept his legs at Neo's She flipped neatly over his limbs, but couldn't avoid the strike to her knees with his cane. She was thrown off balance enough for Roman to jump to his feet. Gripping one end of his cane, he swung it around at Neo several times, aiming for her hands and neck. Much to his chagrin, she was able to dodge or block every blow he threw. Ducking under his last swing, she didn't expect the punch that landed across her jaw. The force was enough to send her small frame sprawling across the floor. Deciding not to close the distance, Roman blasted off several rounds at his opponent. Rolling to her feet, Neo easily dodged past several of the shots, catching the last on her umbrella.

The two fighters exchanged a flurry of blows, cane on umbrella, Neo spinning around Roman, using her more agile form to her advantage. Desperately blocking every attack, Roman felt himself being pushed back, despite landing a few tricky blows on Neo. He needed to throw her off balance again. Swinging at her head with an over exaggerated strike, he threw a kick at her side. Mid kick, he saw that Neo didn't react at all to his high feint, and instead leapt into the air, pinning his leg between her own. Spinning, she planted her palms on the ground and twisted, sending Roman crashing into the floor. The force was enough to bounce him back into the air. Pushing off with her hands, Neo planted both of her feet into Roman's stomach before hit hit the ground a second time. Roman went flying across the room, crashing through some wooden shipping crates and into the wall. The impact was strong enough to bring tears to his eyes. His vision blurred, Roman started to get up, only to feel a strange prickling sensation on his neck. Blinking his eyes, his sight cleared enough to reveal a sword at his throat.

Neo stood over him, having apparently pulled a blade from her umbrella. The expression on her face made Roman's blood run cold. Both of her eyes had turned pure white, with only tiny black pupils in the center. Her mouth was twisted in a predatory grin. 'Just try it,' the expression seemed to say. 'Just give me an excuse to cut your throat.' For the first time, Roman considered the reason Cinder chose this girl to work with. Continuing to antagonize her would most assuredly be a _very_ bad idea. Moving as little as possible, Roman spoke.

"Alright. You win. Let's not do anything you'll regret, now." Fishing her scroll out of her pocket, she typed one handed, sword never leaving Roman's throat. _Good. Glad to see we're on the same page for once. Now apologize._ "Apologize? What for?" Neo's eyes narrowed and the sword poked deeper at his throat. "Alright! Alright." For the second time that night, Roman swallowed his pride and apologized. "I'm sorry for the teasing back with the White Fang." The sword poked again. "And for attacking you!" The pressure disappeared from his neck.

Neo blinked and her eyes returned to their normal pink and brown. The umbrella was back at its usual place on her shoulder. She smiled sweetly at him, then turned and walked away, heels clacking on the floor. Roman picked himself up and brushed off his bowler hat, muttering to himself the whole time.

"First Red, and now this. I need to stop fighting these kids."

* * *

 _ **AN: As always, praise/criticism is appreciated. So, remember when I said that I was on holiday break from Uni, and was going to be able to write chapters faster? Yeah, that was a funny joke. I kinda forgot about the whole 'holidays-are-busy' thing. And the whole 'spending-time-with-family' thing. Ironically, now that I'm going back to school, chapter will actually be coming out faster. I hope. If you're smart, you've picked up on the fact that I have no idea what I'm talking about.**_

 _ **Also, if you've been watching the newest volume of RWBY, you know that this story is officially not canon. Mmmmmm, yeah. Smell the AU! Yeah, I'm not going to change this story at all based on the new information. Although, I do feel the need to say that I had planned out the 'Adam is an unwilling participant in Cinder's plan' thing before I saw the flashback episode. It did give me some convenient canon dialogue to reuse in my story though.**_


	7. AN: Endings

_**Hey, guys, so you might have noticed that this story is pretty dead. It is with regret to say that I'm cancelling this fic. I don't really have the motivation to write it anymore. Roman and Neo is still the best ship, and I haven't even gotten to the romance yet, but I can't really keep going with it. I think I just took too long between chapters, got too busy, and couldn't keep a rhythm going. However, I don't want to leave off completely with out wrapping things up, and I did have this story planned out pretty well from the get-go, so here is a synopsis of what would have happened for the rest of the story**_

After their fight, Roman and Neo have a tense couple days before going to do their mission for Adam. They go to the Vale docks and meet up with some of the White Fang. The mission is to get aboard a SDC shipping freighter and blow it up. Roman is put in charge of finding the faunus labor on board and get them out, while leaving any humans aboard to die. Stuff happens on board, and Neo ends up fighting a whip using Hunter hired by the SDC, while Roman and some of the WF fight one of those spider mechs from the Black trailer. Neo kills the Hunter, but her aura is almost depleted during the fight. Roman is losing to the mech, but Neo jumps in and takes a blow, saving Roman, but getting herself badly hurt. Off the ship, the WF rush her to one of their medics. **_(_** _ **I have half of this chapter written, but never completed)**_

While she is recovering, Roman and Neo communicate more. Roman feels he owes Neo for saving his life, so Neo makes him promise to start actually trying to work with her. Roman also finds out that Neo is not a kid, as her thought, but in her twenties. (Who can blame him? She's so smol) After she's back on her feet, Roman, Neo, and the WF start robbing Dust shops all around Vale, while Roman and Neo start trusting each other and working together better. _**(I call this the Partner arc, as opposed to the Bodyguard Arc, which makes up most of what I've published)**_ Roman let's Neo start sleeping on his couch instead of the floor, etc. Developing the relationship stuff. After a bunch of this, Roman gets a message from Cinder that's really condescending and stuff and it pisses Roman off. The message ends with Cinder reminding Roman to take Neo everywhere. Despite being glad to take Neo along at this point, he lies to her and leaves her behind on the next job just to spite Cinder. This is the Volume 1 finale, from Roman's perspective. After, getting run off by Penny, he gets back to his hideout, he's met by Neo, who had been looking all over the city for him, and had heard the explosions and stuff at the docks, and had thought the worst. She's runs up crying and hugs him.

This is when things start getting 'Roman'-tic _**(That joke was literally in my planning notes that I wrote in like, November)**_ Roman and Neo start their relationship while preparing for the move to Mt. Glenn. There was to be lots of fluff and cuteness here, at least as much cuteness as you can get from two criminals. Roman and Neo and the WF steal the Atlesian mechs in a big aerial heist that involves jumping from Bullheads to other ships and people falling to their deaths and stuff _**(This sequence, as well as the RWBY/Mech fight from Roman's perspective was one of the things I was most looking forward to writing. Seriously, I was gonna make that into a goddamn action set piece)**_ After the mech heist would also be the first time Roman and Neo make the beast with two backs, so to speak. Why I planned out when that would happen from the very beginning, I have no idea

So after the mech stuff and getting to Mt. Glenn, the train sequence happening pretty much exactly like the show, with the Roman/Blake fight being either Roman throwing the fight to get captured or him being so worried about how they got past Neo that he is distracted and loses. Roman getting arrested at the end of Volume 2 was going to be the end of the story. Then there would be an epilogue told from Neo's perspective with her thinking back on the relationship, while breaking Roman out of jail. Originally, she was going to go to Atlas to do it, then changed to just on the Atlas airship once that episode happened. The whole thing would end with them being together and free.

 _ **AND NOT DEAD! Seriously, Torchwick getting ate was one of the worst parts of this volume for me, even with all the stuff that happened in the finale. It occurs to me that I was a bit too ambitious with my first ever fanfic, rewriting almost two whole seasons of the show from the villain's perspective. This isn't going to be the end of my writing though. Me and a friend are planning a RWBY/Game of Thrones crossover that's going to be quite in depth and going to take a long time to write. In the meantime, I'm probably going to be writing a RWBY werewolf AU, so if that sounds interesting, looks for that in the next couple weeks.**_

 _ **So apologies to everyone reading this story that wanted it to continue, especially people who found it recently and this is the first chapter they got an update for, and thank you to everyone who left a review on the story. Your feedback is always appreciated. I'm grateful to all of you who took the time to read this story, and I hope to see you in the future on my other writings. Hopefully they go better than this one.**_


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